2013 Craggy Range Kidnappers Vineyard Chardonnay

Cracka Value Rating

Cracka Review

Made in the more parred back, far less oaky style, This zesty, zippy number is citrusy, creamy and nutty on the nose, and this carries through to the palate.

Winemaker's Notes

A modern, new world expression of pure Chardonnay.

The cool yet sunny environment of our Te Awanga Vineyard near Cape Kidnappers allows the development of intense Chardonnay flavours in the grapes, captured using traditional winemaking techniques seen in the Chablis region of France.

Alc/Vol: 13.0%

expert reviews about

2013 Craggy Range Kidnappers Vineyard Chardonnay

Expert Reviews

Campbell Mattinson (2015 Vintage) says

Smoky, almost gravelly, reductive elements add both complexity and tautness to this strictly controlled Chardonnay. Steely stone fruit flavours run through the palate with just the slightest hints of both sage and buttered toast. It’s a good wine. Not especially generous and certainly not flamboyant, but controlled and textural and with just enough fruit power.

2017 - 2019

91

Nick Stock (2011 Vintage) says

Vivid citrus fruits draw you in here: grapefruit, lime and lemon, with flashes of white peach and nectarine for good measure. Soft spice and potted cream feature on the mid-palate, and the finish powers along propelled by the mineral-laden acid line. Citrus-infused finish.

2013

Good Wine Guide

92

WINESTATE (2010 Vintage) says

Subtle style, fermented in tanks and barrels using Òthe traditional techniques of Chablis.Ó Fresh and fruit-focused, with good weight and ripe grapefruit, pear and apple flavours, slightly mealy, finely poised and lingering. Not showy, but refined and satisfying.

WINESTATE Volume 34 (2011) 2011

Michael Cooper (2010 Vintage) says

Made using 'the traditional techniques of Chablis', the 2010 vintage is a very gently oaked style, full of interest. Grown near the coast at Te Awanga, and fermented in a mix of tanks (mostly) and French oak barrels, it is fresh and fruit-focused, with good weight and ripe grapefruit, pear and apple flavours, slightly mealy, finely poised and lingering. It's not showy, but refined and satisfying.

Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines

Michael Cooper (2009 Vintage) says

“Made using ‘the traditional techniques of Chablis’, the 2009 vintage is
a gently oaked style, full of interest. It is weighty and
sweet-fruited, with very fresh and vibrant, grapefruit and peach
flavours, slightly mealy and leesy, surprising complexity, and a lengthy
finish. It’s a subtle style of Chardonnay, yet very refined and
satisfying."

Michael Cooper (2008 Vintage) says

“Made using ‘the traditional techniques of Chablis’, this is a very
gently oaked style, but still full of interest. Grown near the coast, at
Te Awanga, it is weighty and smooth, with fresh, ripe, citrusy, appley
flavours, slightly leesy and nutty. A subtle style of chardonnay,
refined and persistent.”

This is a really flashy wine with a Californian
glossiness to it (in the best possible way, of
course). Glistening hazelnut brioche and
marmalade notes and very fine, minerally acidity
swell to tropical fruit richness on the finish.
Matthew ate two chocolates after this wine (to
stay alive, he says) and he could still taste it! This
wine has the texture and class of a very
expensive bottle indeed.